Unedited
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“Eren, stop staring at me like that.”

“But you look so handsome today, babe.”

“Jesus, Eren, you're being so weird about this.”

I lay on top of Eren's crossed legs as I attempt to read peacefully. We are on my bed since it was closer to the heater, which I didn't complain about. Eren continues to play with my hair, braiding it different ways and finding the pass time to be amusing, though it wasn't on my end. My nose is stuck in a good book, something I never planned on reading since sappy romance stories weren't really my thing.

With only one few days back at Sina, Eren and I have been on a total of four dates–and yes, I am keeping track. New Years would have to be personal favorite so far, despite the fact that we couldn't share our New Years kiss. He did, however, manage to peck my lips which was more than enough to send my emotions on one hell of a ride.

Eren continues to twist my hair with his finger, swirling it until it curled on its own. He was bored, beyond bored and I didn't blame him. Before arriving there was a snow storm warning on the radio; so much for a soft snow this year.

I eventually sit up, hunching my shoulders over. The book is soon tossed in front of me. Eren scoots closer until his chest is against my back. He kisses my neck and I twitch from the cold touch before softly groaning.

“Eren, stop being weird.”

“I'm not being weird, it's called being affectionate. You should try it sometime–like now sometime.”

The corners of my lips curl into a small grin before I turn myself around to face Eren. He finds himself more comfortable crawling in top of my crossed legs, his crotch against my own which I found somewhat uncomfortable—but I'm not complaining. He wraps his legs around my torso and rests his forehead on my own, our eyes connecting and instantly locked.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hey,” he returns.

“You're beautiful,” I whisper.

“I know.”

I snort at his reply. God damn does this boy drives me nuts. I like him, I know that much. I learned that I did, but love? Not quite there, at least, not yet.

“Levi?” He hums.

“What is it?”

“Want to practice today? Your violin is right there.”

I sigh. What a great way to ruin the mood. I glance behind me at the violin case that is perfectly propped against the bookshelf. It's collected some dust over the months I've spent here.

“Eren, can we not today? I just want to stay in bed all day,” I groan before looking up at him.

“Levi, the show is in April and you said so yourself that it takes months to improve… you promised.”

He's right, I did promise–but I don't want to play the violin, I haven't been able to for years. I didn't stop because of traumatic experience, it wasn't anything personal, or even a reason at all. I just lost interest all of a sudden, and that was that. Everyone thought something had happened, that it was something serious but it was nothing of the sort.

“I did, didn't I?" I sigh. "Okay, what do you want me to play?"

There was a spark in Eren's eyes, a spark of happiness with hints of excitement as he looped his arms around my neck. He tackles me against the mattress, his body hovering over mine while he shimes a toothy smile. His arms are propped on both sides of my head.

"You can play me," he tries to say, but he ends up snorting right after.

"Oh my god, Eren, please stop," I groan before pushing him off. I send him a scowl and he bursts into laughter.

"I was only joking, babe," he manages to say between excessive giggles. He wipes away a tear and rolls off the side of the bed to collect my violin case. "So," he strains, "how do you use this thing?" He unzips the sides and I feel my heart skipping beats as he takes the bow from its compartment.

"Please don't play with that," I warn while Eren waves the bow in the air, taunting me as if it were a sword. "Jesus, Eren! I said stop it, do you know how delicate that thing is?"

"Okay, okay," he mutters before setting it back.

I sigh, climbing off the bed to take the case away from him before any real damage was done. With a soft hand, I collect the instrument and place it upon my right shoulder.

"You don't know how to properly hold a violin," I brag as I reach for the bow.

"Oh really? Why not show me how it's done, babe?"

I raise a brow before placing the bow above the A string. I stare at him with an intimidating gaze, believing that I was this violin God. I clear my throat and say, "very well."

Well, I thought I was this great violinist. When I drag the bow across the strings the most excruciating sound cuts through the air, my ears feeling as if they were about to bleed. Eren covers his ears with a pained look until I yield at my attempt of sounding godly.

"You have a lot of practicing to do…"

* * *

"Let's okay it again," Eren commands for the third time.

With only six weeks left before the spring recital, Eren has been pushing me beyond my limits. My arms are sore from having to hold the violin for hours at a time, the pain bearable when I take painkillers. My fingertips have calluses and throb from the hours of practice and the pressure I force upon the twisted steel. I can't seem to get the sleep I desire, the notes of our duet are constantly being played over and over again.

I groan, lifting the violin back to my chin and proceed to play. Eren begins again on his piano, the music hall echoing with our song. It wasn't very good, and we didn't sync with one another at all. My notes were too sharp compared to Eren's part, yet he never scolded me.

He is patient, not once raising his voice at my complaints or desire to quit. For the past four weeks he's only been encouraging me and pushing me forward.

"You're off key," says an unfamiliar voice as Eren and I reach mid-song.

I immediately stop and send a rude glare towards the direction of the voice. The woman had a soft pair of brown eyes that felt as if they could melt someone's heart, but the way she stared at me made me feel less than warm. She appears displeased and unimpressed with our performance, and didn't bother holding back her critique as she further explains our mistakes.

Surprising enough, it was Eren who had been playing in the wring key. The woman that soon introduced herself as Petra Ral, the music instructor for Sina's music department, took a seat beside Eren and let her fingers dance across the keys "the proper way."

"I'm sorry, Ms Ral," Eren apologizes.

"It's no problem, Eren, just be careful not to stress your friend out when you are the one at flaw. You want the professors of music universities to notice you, right?"

"Of course," Eren replies.

"Then play properly, piano must be played to perfection, you put too much heart into this piece and not enough technique. The professors would not be moved if the work isn't polished," she informs in a serious tone of voice. "Please don't assume I'm coming of as rude, Eren. I only want to see you succeed. I've seen your potential, and you don't belong in a medical school. Your talent belongs somewhere more."

"Thank you, Ms Ral."

Petra nods with a soft smile before slipping away from the piano bench. She turns to face me and my body tenses from her sudden approach. She reaches her hand out, asking permission to play my violin to which I allow.

She begins to play a piece from memory, a memory that only she knew. The way she held the bow was delicate, yet so fierce. She allows the violin play for itself, not forcing the notes one bit as if she were only there to support the instrument. The way Petra plays was mind boggling, my eyes glued to the instrument. Eren, too, was gazing in awe as she finished her piece.

"You play with too much thought. You don't allow yourself to play, you focus too much on the way your playing rather than why you play," she says suddenly. She hands the violin back carefully before giving me one more piece of advice. "Let the heart play your strings, not your mind."

And with that, the woman disappears from the hall, leaving Eren and I to play alone once more; only this time, Eren and I play almost perfectly.

* * *

"Eren, it's your birthday, can't we just take a break?"

With the winter finally coming to an end and the recital less than a week away, Eren has been anxious for the day to come. Petra had been coming by during our practices to watch our improvements, and she believes we are ready; though Eren thinks we are far from it.

"Just one hour, babe, please," he begs with a pout. He already has his coat on and was waiting by the door, his hand resting on the nob.

"Eren, no."

"Babe, the recital is exactly seven days, twelve hours, and thirteen minutes, there is no time for a 'break'," he retorts.

"Not even for some birthday cuddling?" I ask with a raised brow.

Eren's eyes brighten, but he still hesitates to release the door handle. He takes in a breath and averts his eyes from the handle to the bed several times before finally deciding. He lets the handle go with a heavy sigh.

"Fine, I guess one day won't hurt anyone…"

"Come here," I order with open arms.

Eren slides off his coat and tosses it to the side before crawling into my arms. We fall back on the mattress, Eren's head resting against my chest as we tangle ourselves in the freshly washed bedsheets. One side of his body is draped over mine, his arms wrapped around my upper body.

He listens to the soft beating if my heart, and I plant a soft kiss on the top of his head. We rest our eyes, letting the silence of the afternoon consume us into a feeling of solitude as our minds drift off separately.

Eren's thoughts consist of his performance. He decided to play the first two nights alone, and our duet the final night. Even though I warned him the the third night would be the most important if all because of the VIP guests that were scheduled to attend, he didn't change his mind.

"I want those professors and musicians to see us play, I want them to see our love upon that stage. It's going to be our night to remember."

These were his words for the past nine weeks, and they will continue to be his words until our final night on that stage.

While Eren thought of the recital, my mind drifts into much broader topic.

Love.

Eren has yet to say this word, and I try my best to avoid it. I find it odd he hasn't thrown the L word around recklessly like he did with the let names. I remember mentioning it to him on one of our dates, and he simply replied, "I don't feel like it's time yet."

Not that in complaining, heck, I'm not even sure if I love him.

Eren hums against my chest. His tightens his grip around my upper body and nuzzles his head deeper into my dark shirt. He calls my name childishly, whining for my attention.

"What is it, Eren?"

"Give me attention," he whines.

"I am giving you attention, what morw do you want?" I question, my eyes still resting shut.

"Strip."

"Excuse me?" My eyes widen. I wiggle away from Eren who begins to giggle.

"I was only teasing," he snorts. "Jeez, can't you take a joke?"

I scowl, now sitting up with hunched shoulders. He yawn, rubbing my eye lazily as I shrug in response.

"Levi," he whines again, "can you promise me something?" Eren crawls back into me open arms and curls himself into a small ball.

"What is it?"

Eren hums sleepily as we writhe under the covers once more. I press my like against the to on of his head before facing him. We lay on our sides now, our eyes interlocking with one another. His lips are tugged into a soft smile, his eyes tired and drooped.

Eren takes hold of my hands and entwines our fingers together befor giving them a light squeeze. He looks at our hands, his eyes bright, teal eyes calming. I watch his movements, basking in the tenderness of his gentle gestures.

"I want you to do something for me," he finally says. "I want you to make out performance memorable, and I don't care how you do it. I want the audience to remember us, not our duet."

"What would you want me to do exactly, Eren?"

His eyes flicker as he glances up at me, the smile widening unto a cheeky grin. "Remember when Petra said to let the heart play your strings?"

"Yeah," I breathe, recalling the instructor's words.

"I want you to do exactly that, but–" he pauses to press his lips against the bare skin if my hand "–i want you to play the strings to my heart."

* * *

Author's Note:

I hope you liked this filler-ish chapter >-<

My heart is so happy with all the love you posted on the author's note, thank you for that, I needed it. Even one of my favorite authors commented (lowkey fell out of my chair when he did), and I was having a panic attack.

Anygays, summer is just around the corner, and by the time I update this again it'll probably be around the same time I get out of my classes.

I'm trying to add fluff, but I think I'm failing miserably •^• I'm sorry guys!

Welp, until next time ♡
Vote, comment, be gay ♡

[ psst, I updated the playlist~
oh, and I apologize for any typos. If you could point them out I'd be glad to fix them ]

2,435 words